


Company

by DoorIsAjar



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Help, Hurt/Comfort, Personal Space, Silence, care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 04:01:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15016241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoorIsAjar/pseuds/DoorIsAjar
Summary: There is nothing wrong with Diana, at least nothing that she has given anyone the luxury of seeing. That is, until Akko comes along - completely ignorant regarding the concept of personal space but who can perhaps give Diana exactly what she needs.





	Company

"I just need a moment."

Akko felt compelled to step closer, to bring herself next to Diana; but maybe that was too much. Maybe Diana needed this space, maybe Akko even being here was a mistake on its own.

But this wasn't really Diana, and maybe Diana needed something different. She didn't need the stand-offish nature that everyone exhibited around her, and she certainly didn't need the isolation that her status and intelligence imbued upon her.

"If something's wrong, I can listen," Akko began. "I might be pretty bad at helping with whatever it is, but I can listen."

She thought Diana would shoo her away, insist to Akko that everything was fine - because of course it was, that was why she had situated herself atop the takeoff tower, where no one would bother to come look, _if_ anyone had bothered to look for her in the first place.

So when Diana heaved a sigh and collected her face into her hand, Akko rooted herself to the spot.

"I am merely a bit overwhelmed. I just... needed to be away."

Akko felt words bloom on the tip of her tongue, anxious to be released, but she reined in her impulsiveness for a moment longer. Perhaps prying wasn't what Diana needed.

"Does it help - for it to be quiet?"

Her feet shuffled beneath her. It was strange to stand and address Diana while she sat, hunched over and so... unlike herself.

"I suppose."

Akko wrung her fingers. "Would you like some company?" She wasn't nervous about her offer - not in the least. But she didn't feel comfortable with the notion of trampling over Diana's self-imposed walls, when she was clearly not accustomed to receiving _comfort_ and _help_ from people. "I can be quiet. I dunno, I just know when I'm feeling down, it helps to be around my friends."

The other witch stalled. The idea was foreign to her, but it suddenly felt far more stifling and wretched to be alone. It was strange; the desire for company was never a want she experienced, but at the thought of Akko turning on her heels, of Diana being left to mull and ground her thoughts apart - _alone_ \- a wave of anxiety crept up on her.

Just when Akko thought her offer would go unanswered, Diana's voice filtered through the air, a sound far too timid and uncertain to be her own.

"You'll be quiet?"

"Unless you want to talk - err, I mean unless you want me to talk. But I'll be quiet if that's what you want."

A few beats of silence passed, and Akko thought she had messed up, said a few too many words and blew Diana's trust that she could _actually_ manage to stay quiet.

"I would... appreciate the company."

Her steps were quiet as she closed the distance between them, despite the heels of her boots meeting the wooden platform. There was no hesitancy as Akko lowered herself beside Diana, but she felt as if she were intruding upon something sacred as she chanced a look at the blond witch's face.

Diana's eyes remained closed, fingers pinching her forehead. Her body was tense, shoulder hunched up and back far from the perfect, ram-rod straight posture that Diana always carried. Akko pondered if anyone had ever seen Diana like this before, but the answer surely had to be no.

Akko scooched closer, shoulders bumping together. She didn't like that thought. She didn't like the idea that Diana kept all of... everything to herself, that she didn't - couldn't - bring herself to rely on anyone. Maybe that was too much for Diana, but Akko was a touchy-feely kind of person; she didn't register that touchy-feely wasn't always good and wanted until the body beside her became stiff at the contact.

But then Diana was leaning against her, and maybe it was purely Akko's imagination, but a chunk of tension seemingly evaporated from her friend.

Diana wasn't sure what this feeling _was_ , exactly. But it was filling a certain hole in her chest, one that had been gouged open shortly after her mother's death, and it felt easier to just _breathe_ with this body next to her. It felt warm and filling, and she wanted to express these very thoughts to Akko, but how would she go about it without sounding strange? Is this what comfort and care did to a person? Turn their twisted insides into a gooey mess of undone nerves and melted anxieties? Akko began squirming beside her, and then she linked their arms together, to which Diana could feel something unravel from her bundle of tension and worry.

"Thank you."

Akko pulled her closer, temples lightly knocking together. "You don't gotta thank me. It's what friends do."

_Friends._ Akko was her friend. And at this point, the entirety of the Blue, Red, and Green teams were probably all friends - but since when did _friends_ start providing Diana with this sense of security, this notion that being vulnerable wasn't all bad because there would be someone else there to mend her mistakes and hold her back up? Since when had she been able to feel this kind of warmth consume her chest?

Perhaps the shift happened then and there as she pondered over the provisions that friends granted one another. Perhaps this was normal, and she had been missing out on it all.

If that were the case, she didn't know how she had managed to go so long without this warmth.

Diana let herself lean into Akko. It felt childish, but she was unwilling to let this go just yet; and as Akko heaved a quiet, content sigh, relaxing against Diana, apparently neither was she.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a little difficult to write, but I really wanted to write something that displayed that Diana can be weak, while Akko is so loving and can be considerate while still being so ignorant of the concept of personal space (in a good way). Regardless, it was still fun to write. As a side note, this takes place after the conclusion of the anime. I hope that I characterized them well, and I hope that you have enjoyed reading!


End file.
